Digital Cellulose Center – New competence center at RISE, LiU and KTH

22 March, 2017 - 10:00

​The Digital Cellulose Center (DCC) is one of eight new competence centers recently supported by VINNOVA. RISE Acreo, LiU, RISE Bioeconomy and KTH together with ten corporations will conduct world-class research in the center in an area vital to Swedens future competitiveness. RISE Acreo is the main applicant and will co-ordinate the DCC.

In the VINNOVA competence center programme, universities, research institutes, corporations and public agencies will collaborate on research in an area vital to Swedens future competitiveness. The investment is part of the strategic partnership program initiative run by the the Swedish government.

RISE Acreo is the main applicant and will act as co-ordinator for the Digital Cellulose Center, established together with RISE Bioeconomy (former Innventia), Linköping university (Campus Norrköping), KTH Royal Institute for Technology and a number of different corporations. The purpose of the DCC is to make cellulose based products an integrated part of the digital society. The DCC is granted 36 MSEK from VINNOVA until the 2022 when an evaluation will take place to determine if the center will be funded for another five years. The VINNOVA funding will be matched by the academic partners and corporations, making the total funding for the project 108 MSEK for the first five years.

The research within the Digital Cellulose Center will focus on the topic of digital cellulose, where cellulose is combined with electroactive material, making it possible to develop electrically active cellulose products that can communicate with the digital world while remaning sustainable and environmentally friendly. This could mean entirely new types of active packaging solutions, able to sense and adapt to their surroundings, or paper rolls able to store energy from solar cells or windpower.

”The Digital Cellulose Center is a truely exciting project and we will continue to drive the development of the paper industry towards new possiblities. We’re seeing great potential in the innovative solutions for packaging logistic, renewable materials and energy storage that might emerge from this research environment” says Anna Jonhed, chairman of the board for the Digital Cellulose Center.

It’s not a coincidence that the competence center for digital cellulose is formed around RISE Acreo and RISE Bioeconomy, LiU and KTH. These academic parties have done research on digital cellulose in the past, in large projects funded by the Wallenberg foundation, SSF and the Swedish Energy Agency, The environment surrounding the Printed Electronics Arena in Norrköping has been crucial to this research, and will continue to be a vital part of the Digital Cellulose Center.